The Smile Of The Absent Cat

'Absolutely magical... Always intriguing' Richard Adams author of Watership Down. Behind the realm of man lie the wild roads. Weaving through time and space, these hidden pathways carry the natural energies – the spirits, the dreams – of the world. No creature can slip into the shadows and travel the wild roads better than the cat. For millennia, cats have patrolled the tangled paths, maintaining balance and order, guarding against corruption and chaos. It is dangerous territory: for those who control the wild roads hold the keys to the world. Amid a struggle between the purest good and the darkest evil, here are tales of duty and destiny, of courage and comradeship among the extraordinary creatures who brave the wild roads... Secure in a world of privilege and safety, Tag is happy with life as a house cat – until the dreams begin. Hazy dreams of strange pathways, of a mission he must undertake and of a terrible responsibility he will bear. Armed with the cryptic message, Tag must bring the King and Queen of cats to Tintagel before the spring equinox. Meanwhile, a man known only as the Alchemist doggedly hunts the Queen for his own ghastly ends. And if the Alchemist captures her, the world will never be safe again...

"All scholarship is a collective endeavour, but this book, and the context in which it was completed, has taught us more about the necessities of collective intellectual work, and its material and emotional conditions, than we would have liked. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown came to our cities just as we completed the first draft of the book, but with a lot more work to do. Even before the coronavirus, we were conscious of the extent to which intellectual labour depends on other forms of labour, often unacknowledged and provided by others"--

Presents more than four hundred lists on various information on cats, including cat breeds, training, and behavior, as well as such topics as famous cats in history, cat food recipes, and gifts for pampered cats.